Wes Remmer doesn’t hesitate: Yes, Cabela’s loves Minnesota and its people.
Cabela’s Incorporated, the giant retailer specializing in hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, will prove this once again on May 15. That’s when the newest Minnesota Cabela’s will open in the community of Woodbury.
“We love Minesota,” said Remmer, Cabela’s corporate communications manager, in a phone interview. “We’ve had great success with our previous Minnesota locations. Based on the response from those three stores, and the feedback from the people in Woodbury, we are really excited about opening the doors to this store.”
Cabela’s will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:45 a.m. on May 15. Then the business will officially open its doors at 11 a.m. The opening-day event will be the first in a weekend-long celebration featuring outdoor celebrities, family events and giveaways.
The Woodbury store boasts 85,000 square feet and sits at 8400 Hudson Road in the Tamarack Village Shopping Center. This marks Cabela’s fourth location. The company already operates Minnesota stores in Rogers, East Grand Forks and Owatonna.
The Woodbury store will employ about 185 full- and part-time employees.
Remmer said that Cabela’s officials first studied the Woodbury area before deciding to open a new store here.
This is standard procedure, of course. And Cabela’s has an edge when performing this analysis: The retailer operates a thriving direct-mail business. Through its catalogue sales, Cabela’s officials can more easily determine where their customers live and what they buy.
When analyzing the Woodbury area, Cabela’s officials saw a community that already boasts plenty of residents who buy Cabela’s merchandise.
It made sense, then, to open a store here, Remmer said.
“The people across Minnesota live the Cabela’s lifestyle,” Remmer said. “They are interested in hunting, fishing, camping and hiking. They are interested in what Cabela’s is all about. Woodbury is a great fit for Cabela’s.”
The new Cabela’s, like all of the retailer’s locations, will include several unique features. This includes hundreds of trophy-animal mounts recreated in their natural habitats; a two-story mountain complete with wild-game displays; a built-in aquarium stocked with freshwater fish native to the region; a gun library; bargain cave; indoor archery range; fudge shop; deli; and fly shop.
“The region’s natural resources and its many passionate hunters, anglers, campers and outdoor recreation enthusiasts, as well as the many tourists it attracts from out of state, make the Woodbury area a perfect fit for Cabela’s,” said Shelby Rockhold, general manager of the new store, in a written statement.
Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson Construction Company, which has an extensive history of working with Cabela’s, is building the Woodbury store.
Remmer said that Cabela’s officials are comfortable working with Kraus-Anderson.
“Cabela’s stores are unique,” Remmer said. “They are large. They have unusual features. our goal is to bring the outdoors indoors. On every project that we have completed with Kraus-Anderson, the stores have turned out beautiful. The customer response has been positive. We have had great success in the past with Kraus-Anderson. We are confident that the Woodbury store will live up to the high standards that Kraus-Anderson has already set.”
